Pakistan: New Taliban chief comes home to lead insurgency

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Fazlullah ruled out any negotiations from the day of his appointment and promised a new campaign of shootings and bombings.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Reuters / Yahoo News
By Saud Mehsud | December 3, 2013

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - The elusive new chief of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, has returned to his homeland from a secret mountain hideout in neighboring Afghanistan to lead the insurgency, militant and intelligence sources said on Tuesday.

Fazlullah, known for his hardline Islamist beliefs and rejection of peace talks with the Pakistani government, was named the leader after Hakimullah Mehsud, his predecessor, was killed in a U.S. drone strike on November 1.

Hakimullah's death set off a power struggle within the already deeply fractured insurgency, with Fazlullah's extended absence fuelling infighting among the Taliban.

On Monday, two Pakistani intelligence sources said Fazlullah had crossed the mountains into Pakistan a day earlier.

"We have information that ... Fazlullah has entered the Pakistani tribal area along with 15 or 20 guards," said one source. Taliban sources confirmed he had reached tribal areas.

Fazlullah would be keen to end squabbling among the Taliban leadership and streamline what is essentially a chaotic organization with weak central command.

Another Pakistani intelligence source said that his escort included three high-profile Taliban commanders, Azam Waziristan, Mufti Abdul Rashid and Muftah Udin.

Nicknamed "Radio Mullah" for his fiery broadcasts in Pakistan's Swat valley, Fazlullah is best known for ordering the assassination of teenage female education activist Malala Yousafzai.

Malala survived the shooting and now lives in Britain.

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(Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Ron Popeski)


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